Caterpillars. my little one has taken two from the radish plants in our garden?

Question

how do we make a tank for them, and keep them healthy until they change to butterflies ?? what do we have to do > we have a tank with a lid/airholes and we have covered the base with damp radish leaves. thanks x

Answer 1

How about a small fish tank with some dirt in it & a raddish plant or two so that it will feel at home !

Answer 2

How to Raise Caterpillars:

To find caterpillars, you must first look in the right places. Different types of caterpillars are found on different

plants. The plant you found your caterpillar on is most likely the plant that the caterpillar prefers to eat.  

The following is a list of caterpillars you may find and some of their preferred host plants:

Monarch Butterfly – Milkweek plants:  

Common Milkweed

Marsh Milkweek

Butterfly Week

Black Swallowtail Butterfly – Umbel plants:

Dill

Fennel

Poison Parsnip

Angelica

Queen Anne's Lace

Parsley

Hornworms – Tomato or tobacco plants.

Cecropia, Polyphemus, Luna Moths – Any number of trees:

Cherry

Oak

Walnut

Willow

Step #1: Find a plastic container with a lid (cream cheese, margarine, etc.) Have an adult punch holes in the lid of

the container with a nail or a knife. Fill the container with water and put the top back on. Take the host plants you

cut, and push them into the holes (Be sure to cut the ends of the plants at a steep angle). Also, take any other

insects and spiders off the plants; they could harm your caterpillar.



Step #2: Place your caterpillar on the plant. Refill the container with water if it gets low. Cut off all the lower

leaves so none of them are in the water.



Step #3: Buy a yard of netting from a fabric store. Drape the netting over your plant. Secure it around the base of

the container with a rubber band. You can also buy a pre-made caterpillar house from a number of stores and

suppliers (see pictures).



Always make sure that the caterpillar has fresh, healthy leaves to eat. If the caterpillar eats all the leaves, find more

of its host plant. Clean out the cage often; remove frass (f***s) at the bottom of the cage. When you caterpillar gets

big, it may stop eating and start roaming the cage. It is looking for a place to pupate, or turn into a chrysalis. Put

sticks in the cage also so the caterpillar can pupate on them, though some will pupate underground (hornworms).



Caterpillar Finding Tips:

Look for leaves with frass on them. The caterpillar shouldn't be too far!

Go out on warm, sunny days (above 70 degrees).

If it is very hot and sunny out, the caterpillars may be on the underside of the leaves.

If you see cut out sections on the sides of leaves the caterpillar should be nearby!



The following is the expected lifespan for each caterpillar:

Monarchs: 2-3 weeks as a larva, 2 weeks as a pupa. Will not over-winter as a pupa

Black Swallowtail: 2-3 weeks as a larva, 2 weeks as a pupa or will over winter as a pupa

Hornworms: 4+ weeks as a larva, 2-3+ weeks as a pupa or will over winter as a pupa

Cecropia, Polyphemus, Luna Moths: 6+ weeks as a larva, will over winter as a pupa



Hopefully this worksheet will help you and your families raise all kinds of caterpillars successfully!

  

Answer 3

It would help to know what type of caterpillars they are, but you've done well in what you've done so far. make sure the tank is out of direct sunlight and in a cool area. also ensure there are some near vertical sticks in the tanks for the caterpillars when the pupate. also ensure the are able to retreat into shade.

Answer 4

The caterpillars ill almost certainly be Cabbage Whites. They need to be warm and dry with plenty of natural sunlight - or a vivarium lamp. Fresh leaves need to be put in every day, unless you have got them actually growing in the tank - you try lettuce /cabbage dandelion leaves as well. The leaves should  not be wet and the sides of the tank should not have condensation on ( or mould/mildew will form).  Eventually the caterpillars will form into a chrysallis - at this stage they need to be put into another warm dry tank (or the same one cleaned out) without any leaves in and left to metamorphose - which normally takes a couple of weeks. we are nearing the end of summer so they may not hatch out if it gets too cold or dark. Have fun.

Answer 5

I tried this when I was a kid. I ended up with a dead caterpillar.

Plenty of ventilation and fresh food. Best of luck.

Answer 6

it is realy hard to keep a catipiller so try what the first person said but im warning if it dies it will start to smell  

Answer 7

Have you ever seen a critter keeper?  they are awesome!

http://www.critter-cages.com/index.php?m...

they are vented VERY well on top and large enough to hold sticks and leaves.  The top has a pop out part so you don't have to take the whole top off when changing the stuff inside.

Answer 8

Housing

This depends on the size of your caterpillars and how big they grow - you may need to re-house your pets as they get larger. Normally a tall sweet jar will be ideal, drill some small (i.e. smaller than the caterpillars) holes in the lid (get an adult to help you) and place the stems of the food plant in a small jar full of water. It may be a good idea to block the top of the small jar with cotton wool to stop your pets falling in and drowning. If your caterpillars are very small then you can use a block of oasis (a type of hard green sponge used for flower arranging) soaked in water and with the stems pushed into it instead.

Once the food plant is placed in the larger jar then you can gently introduce your caterpillars - again using the stem they are sitting on. It is also an idea to place a twig in the large jar so that should the caterpillars fall of the stems they can climb up the twig back to their food plants.

If you have a tropical species which you ordered from a supplier then it is best to keep them indoors and they may even require more specialised conditions (consult your supplier). If you found your caterpillar outside your house then you can keep your cage outside however you must be very careful that it will not blow over in the wind or fill with water when it rains.

You should spray the cage lightly with water once a day or so, however avoid large quantities of condensation forming on the inside of the container. Caterpillars can easily drown in condensation, remember that to caterpillars, a blob of water is very much like a lump of syrup.